Message Board

May 31, 2013

On May 26, 2013 Mike Sandor signed to continue to play hockey, now at the college level. It has yet to be reported on NAHL.com or by the Johnstown Tomahawks. The reason might be because Sandor isn't playing in the US but instead in his homeland of Canada at Simon Fraser University.

Another reason might be because the BCIHL is a non-varsity college ice hockey league.

Simon Fraser University plays in the BCIHL. Here a little about the league via their official web site:

The British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League was created with the purpose of offering a venue for competitive, high-caliber ice hockey for players beyond their junior and minor hockey careers.

The BCIHL was launched in 2006 and now includes seven member teams: Eastern Washington University, Okanagan College, Selkirk College, Simon Fraser University, Thompson Rivers University, Trinity Western University and the University of Victoria. Former members include the University of Northern British Columbia (2006-07) and the University of the Fraser Valley (2006-2011).

Each BCIHL team plays a 24-game league schedule that is comprised of two 2-game home-and-away series with each competitor. The top five teams from the league's regular season then face-off in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League Championships, a round-robin format tournament held each year in March.

Sandor played in 44 games last season for the Tomahawks. In those 44 games he scored 2 goals, 4 assists, good for 6 points, had only 4 penalty minutes all season, and was a minus 2.

During our "Year In Review", which you can read here, (this was part 2 of part 3 for the forwards) we told you Sandor was a classic hard working player who wasn't flashy but always got the job done.

We wish Sandor the best of luck and we'll be keeping an eye on him during the 2013-2014 season.

May 25, 2013

We here at TheTomablog value every single one of our readers. If it wasn't for you guys (and gals) it would be pretty lonely around here and we wouldn't have the opportunities that keep coming our way because of this blog.

So whenever we get the chance to help somebody out, we jump at the chance to show our appreciation for them visiting our blog.

Today is one of those times. Our friend and supporter of TheTomablog, Liz, needed some help spreading the news about an upcoming event she's a part of, and it's for a good cause, so of course we agreed to help her out.

Here's the information she sent to us:

The Zumba is for a guy from Mount Aloysius College who is going on a mission trip to Honduras on June 22. The party is June 8th from 12-2pm at Franklin Firehall. It's $10 to work out for the 2 hours and we'll also be having a small basket raffle and 50/50. All money made will go towards Luke's trip to Honduras.

Sounds like a great cause and a fun time. If anybody has any questions they can e-mail Liz directly at eprice527@yahoo.com

She would also like to say, "Thanks so much for the help and support!!! GO HAWKS"

May 22, 2013

The Tomahawks held their first camp of the offseason this past weekend and GM Rick Boyd tells us it went extremely well. Boyd also told us that the team had signed at least one player from that camp.

We're still awaiting word on who that player was, but our good friend Michael Gosnell, who contributes to this blog from time to time and also is a writer for Juniorhockey.com, found a few names that were at the Tomahawks' tryout.

These are some players to get excited about. We'll start with the a guy that hopes to be the Tomahawks' number one goalie. Looking at this guy's stats, and just how big he is, you can't help but get excited.

Philip Kuznetsov

Kuznetsov is HUGE, standing in net at 6'6 and 215lb. All he would have to do is just stand in net and guys would have a hard time putting pucks against him.

Last season he played in the NAPHL for the West Michigan Hounds U18 team. In 10 games he had a record of 6-4-1 with a GAA of 1.57 and a save percentage of .932.

He also has experience in the WHL, playing four games with a record of 3-1-0 and a GAA of 1.62 and a save percentage of .979.

This guy might be the one who replaces Chris Truehl. Only time will tell, but we'll be watching this guy very closely.

Logan Hudson

This is another guy that comes from the West Michigan Hounds U18 team. In case you were wondering, the Hounds finished last season with a record of 13-6-3, good for second place.

Hudson is a big defensman standing at 6'1 220. He appeared in 22 games, scoring 2 goals, 5 assists, for 7 points. He also had 22 penalty minutes.

Logan Dejong-Seniff

Guess what? Logan played last season for the West Michigan Hounds U18. Are you seeing a trend here? He's another defenseman with pretty good size, 6'1 165lb. Of course, he'll have to add some pounds but he's a '96 birth year, so he's still pretty young.

He played 20 games for the Hounds, where he scored 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists). He also had 58 penalty minutes.

Got invited to the main camp at Johnstown! So blessed. All the hard work and dedication is starting to pay off. Love this game!
— Logan(@logandejong5) May 20, 2013

Shane Bednard

Is a forward who played one game this season for the Port Huron Fighting Falcons. In that one game he had no points. Bednard played the rest of the year in the HPHL for Little Caesars Midget U18 team. In 31 games he posted 31 points (9 goals, 22 assists) and had 30 penalty minutes.

He's a '94 birth year and stands at 5'11 165lb.

Alex Jaeckle

Jaeckle is another defenseman with pretty good size, 6'2 190lb. Jaeckle played 2 games this past season with the Springfield Jr. Blues. He didn't record any points but did rack up 15 penalty minutes.

Jaeckle spent the rest of the season playing for Little Caesars Midget U18. He played in 56 games and scored 18 points (2 goals, 16 assists). He also had 28 penalty minutes.

May 20, 2013

During the season Kalamazoo announced that they wouldn't be back for the 2013-2014 season. Now it appears that the Jamestown Ironmen will be the next team not playing in the North Division in next season.

The team hasn't made an official announcement yet about them folding, but with the team running out of money (during the season), and no tryout camps schedule for this offseason, everything seems to be pointing in that direction. As a fan in general, it's sad to see a team not be able to make it. Johnstown lost their team, the Johnstown Chiefs, and I know what that feels like.

Sure, the Ironmen have only been in the league two years, and only averaged 667 fans, but to those fans it will be a sad day when the team moves out of Jamestown. Also as a fan of the Tomahawks, Jamestown was our closest rival which made quick road trips up to New York doable.

Jamestown just ended the season as North Division Champions. Any team would love to have some of the players they had on their team for next season. I know I'd like a few guys to come to Johnstown. What type of character do they have off the ice? I don't know, as I'm just learning the junior hockey game, and players (only one year under my belt) but I can tell you what kind of player each on is on the ice.

Jamestown has 11 players with a birth year of '93 or higher, which means they can still play junior hockey. Out of those 11 players, there are a few that would make any team better. Today we'll take a look at those players that could fit nicely into a Tomahawks' sweater.

Guys I'd Like to Have

Last season, Jamestown had four players from the Pittsburgh area play for their team. One of those players still eligible to play next season is Elliot Tisdale.

Tisdale is a third or fourth line player that plays a lot like JB Baker, agitating type of player, except he doesn't have the same offensive skill as Baker does. In 56 games he scored 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists) and racked up 97 penalty minutes.

Baker was drafted in the USHL draft this season, and if he sticks with that club, the Tomahawks might want to fill his spot with another player of his type. Tisdale, being a local product, probably would like to play close to home again this season. Might be a good fit for both sides.

Johnstown will be looking for a solid number one goalie for this upcoming season, with the departure of Chris Truehl. If Brennan comes back to the Tomahawks', he might fit that role, but it's better to have two solid number ones battling for the number one spot then just having only one go to guy.

Blake Wojtala, backup to Ballmer for the second part of the season, is a '94 birth date and might get a look from Johnstown. I haven't seen Wojtala play, but looking at his stats he seems to be a decent goalie. His save percentage was below .900 for Odessa, but I'd give him some slack, as the Odessa Jackalopes only recorded six wins all season long.

The Ironmen's leading goal scorer this past season was Luc Gerdes. In 60 games he scored 48 points (27 goals, 21 assists) and was a healthy +15. Those totals would have made him the leading point scorer in Johnstown as well. Gylling lead the Tomahawks' in points with 45.

Another good forward for the Ironmen with another year to play junior hockey is Evan Ritt. Ritt was the third leading scorer on the Ironmen's roster, and finished the year with 38 points (11 goals, 27 assists) in 57 games. Another good two way player, he was able to get himself a +16 on ice rating.

Tyler Dunagan was another leading scorer for Jamestown, though he was only able to register one point vs Johnstown in six games. Total, Dunagan played in 60 games and scored 37 points (22 goals, 15 assists).

Other Players that are '93 or '94 birth years

Brett Szajner

Ryan Urso

Nathan Ropelewski

Huba Sekesi

Matthew Crockett

Kenny Curtis

Is there a player from Jamestown you'd like to play for the Tomahawks' next season? Share your thoughts in the comment second below or tell us on facebook. I look forward to what the other fans think.

Rick Boyd took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with us. He talked about this weekend's first camp and what the team looks to add to the roster for this years team. Some pretty good quotes inside, if you ask me.

Tomahawks did a lot of good things on and off the ice this season, which lead to the team being named the NAHL Organization of the Year. What an awesome honor, and it's even better since it was our first year.

Description from site: A place where this Johnstown, PA sports fan will talk about the big news in sports from this area and around the country. If you are a fan of Pitt, Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, NASCAR, Wheeling Nailers or other local teams this is the place for you to check out.

May 15, 2013

The Tomahawks will be holding their first camp for the 2013-2014 season, this weekend, May 17-19 at Mt. Clemens Ice Arena & Fitness in Mt. Clemens, MI.

This is a Pre-Draft camp and some of the players in this camp may be drafted by the Tomahawks' this June, when the annual NAHL Draft takes place.

Last year the Tomahawks drafted nine players. Those players were:

Ian Spencer- Round 1

Garrett Cox- Round 2

Markus Tomaschek- Round 4

Shayne Bailey- Round 5

Jeff Alderfer- Round 5

Joe Bender- Round 6

Jaycob McCombs- Round 7

Ryan Polin- Round 8

Jonathan Stickel- Round 9

Other players that were drafted in the 2012 NAHL by different teams but found their way to the Johnstown Tomahawks Roster:

Cody Gylling- Fairbanks Ice Dogs- Round 2

Colin Brennan- Janesville Jets- Round 9

JB Baker- Kenai River Brown Bears- Round 10

﻿

After this weekends tryouts, the Tomahawks' next big event will be the NAHL draft on June 4th 2013. That weekend the Tomahawks will be back on the ice for their second "Open Camp", June 7-9 at Dakotah Ice Center, in Prior Lake, MN.

May 8, 2013

The USHL held their annual draft yesterday and three players from the 2012-2013 Tomahawks' roster were selected by different USHL teams. This doesn't mean those three players won't play for the Tomahawks next season, just like the NAHL, the draft means that those teams have those players rights if they play in the USHL next year.

Cody Gylling- Gylling was selected in the 6th round (88th overall) by the Fargo Force. Gylling already has some USHL experience, before he joined the Tomahawks, Gylling played 16 games for the Indiana Ice in 2011-2012. In those 16 games, Gylling scored one goal and one assist.

JB Baker- Baker was selected in the 18th round (270th overall) by the Dubuque Fighting Saints. UPDATED: Baker played 2 games for Sioux City recording 0 goals 0 assist and he was a -4 last season in the USHL.

Cody Boyd- Boyd was selected in the 26th round (380th overall) by the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. To this point in Boyd's career, he hasn't played at the USHL level.

Finkhouse, is one of eight tendered players that the Tomahawks' have for the 2013-2014 season. We chatted with Finkhouse to find out what type of player he is, and what he's heard about the city of Johnstown.

May 3, 2013

Each day this week we'll count down the top five games of this past season for the Johnstown Tomahawks. The list is only what we believe the best five games were, so if you have a different opinion, we'd love to hear about it. Comment below or you can leave a comment on our Facebook or Twitter page.

Before we reveal our number game of the past season, here's a quick review of the games we've counted down already. You can click on any of the Blue underlined words to jump to that article.

Yes, the game we picked as number one, the Tomahawks lost. That's not the point. The reason this game is the number one game of the season is, it was the first home game for the Tomahawks, and the first game in two years that the people of Johnstown could cheer on their own team.

There was a party outside on the street in front of the arena hours before the game, Mario Lemieux was in the building to drop the ceremonial first puck, and the building was packed to full capacity.

Here's what happened in the game itself, and it featured goals, fights, and extra hockey.

1st Period:

There was no scoring in the first period and there was only one penalty, which was on Johnstown's Evan Hasse for roughing.

The shots were 10-5 Michigan.

2ns Period:

The scoring and fighting picked up in the middle frame. First the goals.

The first ever Johnstown Tomahawks' goal at home went to Brandon Reinholz, assisted by Cody Bentzel at 10:24.

About five minutes later, the Warriors would tie the game. Jake Hopfner beat Chris Truehl, with the assists going to Colin Larkin and Luke Rendino.

Before the period ended, the Tomahawks would regain the lead. Cobi Smith-Mass beat Michael Pesendorfer , to make the game 2-1 Johnstown. The assist went to Cody Bentzel, his second of the night.

Johnstown out shot Michigan in the second period, 13-8.

That would be all the scoring in the period. There were a few little scrums during the period, but the only fight was between Brandon Reinholz and Garrett Prochazka, a fight that Reinholz clearly won. You can see that fight from the video below.

3rd Period:

The only goal of the period, was scored by Michigan to send the game to overtime. The goal was scored by Jake Hopfner, his second of the night, assisted by Connor Lyons.

Both teams had 7 shots in the period.

OT:

Neither team could score in the overtime period so the game would be settled in a shootout.

SO:

Johnstown sent out three shooters, Wallace, Gylling, and Reinholz. None of them we able to score.

Michigan had four shooters go against Truehl, and AJ Marcinek, Brock Labelle, and Zack Szajner all scored goal to give Michigan the 3-2 shootout win.

The final shots were 27-25 Michigan.

Johnstown was 0 for 3 on the power play and Michigan was 0 for 2.

Three Stars of the Game:

3- Johnstown- Cobi Smith-Mass

2- Johnstown- Brandon Reinholz

1- Johnstown- Chirs Truehl

Players that played in the game but didn't finish the year with the team:

May 2, 2013

Each day this week we'll count down the top five games of this past season for the Johnstown Tomahawks. The list is only what we believe the best five games were, so if you have a different opinion, we'd love to hear about it. Comment below or you can leave a comment on our Facebook or Twitter page.

#2

When:

December 14th 2012

Where:

Cambria County War Memorial Arena

Match-up/Score:

Jamestown 0 Johntown 5 F

Yesterday for our number three game of the 2012-2013, we selected a match up between the Tomahawks and the Ironmen, and today we've picked another match-up between the same two teams.

Why?

The arena was packed. The Hansen brothers were in town There were fights, and goals. But the most important reason is because the Tomahawks won the game 5-0, the team's first ever shutout.

1st Period:

12:18 into the period, the Tomahawks got a goal from Connor Wright, which would turn out to be the game winning goal. It was assisted by Zach Wallace, and Andrew McDonald.

The Tomahawks would get another goal in the period when Jesse Kessler scored on the power play at 19:01. The assists on the goal went to Casey Nelson and Cody Gylling.

May 1, 2013

Each day this week we'll count down the top five games of this past season for the Johnstown Tomahawks. The list is only what we believe the best five games were, so if you have a different opinion, we'd love to hear about it. Comment below or you can leave a comment on our Facebook or Twitter page.

#3

When:

March 9th 2013

Where:

Cambria County War Memorial Arena

Match-up/Score:

Jamestown 3 Johnstown 2

This was a game Johnstown didn't win, but it sticks out in our minds because of the way the team battled. The Tomahawks had a short bench to start the game due to injuries, and in the course of the game would lose three others. Down 3-0 in the game, heading to the third period, Johnstown began to show what type of team they were.

1st Period:

The first period saw Jamestown score twice. The first goal was scored by Luc Gerdes assisted by Evan Ritt at the 5:00 mark. The second goal was scored by Ross Pavek, a power play goal, assisted by Victor Johansson at 16:17.

In between the two goals there were two major fights. The first happened at 8:15, when Boyd fought Ryan Urso. Then at 14:31, Jake Fairchild fought Joe Mottiqua. The penalties for the two players were as followed:

Joe Mottiqua (Jamestown)

2- Cross Checking

5- Fighting

10- Misconduct

Jake Fairchild (Johnstown)

2- High Sticking

2- Instigating

5- Fighting

10- Fighting Game Misconduct

Jake Fairchild was the first player for the Tomahawks to be thrown out of the game, but wouldn't be the last.

Total Pageviews

Tomablog is a Johnstown Tomahawks fan web site that is in no way affiliated with the Johnstown Tomahawks, NAHL, or its Properties. This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Tomablog is not an official web site for the Johnstown Tomahawks.